Following the news that Paramount Skydance has submitted an unsolicited takeover bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, WBD’s board has said it will “carefully review and consider” the offer.
In a statement to shareholders, WBD said the board is “not modifying” its recommendation in terms of the agreement with Netflix, but will advise shareholders of its recommendation regarding Paramount Skydance’s tender offer within 10 business days (19th December).
“Warner Bros Discovery stockholders are advised not to take any action at this time with respect to Paramount Skydance’s proposal,” added the statement.
Paramount has made a direct offer to shareholders of $30 per share to acquire the whole of Warner Bros, including its cable TV networks. The company said its bid provides shareholders with $18 billion more in cash than the Netflix offer. Paramount’s offer is backed in part by three Arab sovereign wealth funds and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, and has an enterprise value of $108.4 billion.
WBD announced on Friday that it had reached an agreement with Netflix to sell its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO to the streamer for $27.75 per WBD share, with a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion (equity value of $72.0 billion). The transaction is expected to close in 12-18 months.
